Railroad joint



RAILROAD JOINT Filed Aug 27, 1928 Q Y H 7 I 3 j l J B F :W WW wINVENTOR. I C/mnLcs/l. HUNT A TTOR NE Y5.

- lustrated in the acco Patented June 4, 1929 UNITED STATES PAT J1,715,837 ENT, OFFICE. 6

CHARLES A. HUNT, or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

RAILROAD JOINT.

Application filed August 27, 1928. Serial No.1302,2451.

The present invention relates to improvements in railroad joints, andits principal object is to provide a joint for two abutting rails inwhich each rail is extended to run parallel to theabutting rail, so thata wheel pass ing over the joint is carried by the extension of one railwhile making contact with the other rail, whereby its weight istransferred rail, so that the joint is kept within the confines of therails.

It is further proposed to join the two rail ends in such a manner as toallow for expansion and contraction of the rails under the influence ofchanges in temperature.

It is further proposed to arrange this joint in such a manner that itmay be used in connection with old rails by providing joint sectionsadapted to be welded to the end faces of existing rails.

Further objects and advantages'of my in vention will appear as thespecification proceeds. I a

The preferred form of my. invention is ilpanying drawing in which Figure1 shows'a sideelevation of my rail joint;

Figure 2, a top plan view of the same; I

Figure 3, a cross section taken along line 3-.3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4, a longitudinal section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5, an end view of a joint section Figure 6, a side view thereof;

Figure 7 an end view taken from the opposite end;

Figure 8, a top plan View of a joint section.

While I have shown only the preferred form of the invention, I wish tohave it understood that various changes ormodifications may be madewithin the scope ofthe claims hereto attached without departing from thespirit of the invention.

In its preferred form, my invention comprises two complementary jointsections, one

of which is illustrated in Figures 5 to 8 while the two are shown inplace in the Figures 1 to 4. The rails 1 to be joined are of theordinary I-beam type including a base 2, a 7

web 3 and a top flange 4 providing the surface on which the wheel of avehicle rides. The

joint sections 6 and 7, the former of which is shown in detail inFigures 5 to 8, may be welded to the ends of the two rails to be joinedas shown at 8. Each of the joint sections comprises a base 9co-extensive inwidth and'corresponding in shape to the base of therails. From this base rises, at the end where the joint section is to bejoined to the rail, a short of the rail and in width, with the width ofthe supporting face of the rail. From this short web-11 extends anoffset web 12 of half the .web 11 co-extensive in height with the heightwidth of the short web 11 and of the same a height, and this offset webextends to the end ofthe base 9 and beyond the same to such'an extentthat the extension beyond the base is equal in length to the offset webrising from the base.

It will be seen that this construction allows the two offset webs of thetwo joint sec tions to be placed alongside of one another in the mannershown in Figures 2 and 4, within the confines of the surface of therails, and to be fastened together rivets 13 passing through registeringperforations in the two offset that some of the perforations, as shownat by means ofbolts, or

webs. It will be noted 14, are made elongated so as to allow ofcontraction and expansion of the rails under the influence of changes intemperature.

Since the extension of the offset web be yond the base is equal to thatportion of the web above the base, it is apparent that the abuttingbases will approximatelycontact when the rails are joined, except, ofcourse, for the allowance made for expansion and contraction. I

The manner of joiningtwo rails by my improved means is apparent from theforegoing description] The two joint sections '6 and 7 are first weldedto the ends of two rails, whereupon the rails are placed on suitablefoundations with the ofiset webs arranged alongside'of one another.' Theapplication of the bolts or rivets 13 completes the operation.

The advantages of my construction should be readily understood. A wheelcoming from tension of the first rail, while makes contact one directionis supported by the offset exwith the extension of the other rail andgrad ually distributes its weight over both'of the extensions until itreaches the body portion of the second rail, when its weight is takenover by the latter. At no time is there any lack of supporting face andno interruption in the support of the wheel, so that there is no chancefor the dropping of the wheel, which is the cause for 10w joints and theflattening 10 of the abutting ends of the rails.

I claim A portable railroad jointcomprising two short rail sections,each comprising a base, a short web rising therefrom at one endcoextensive in height with the height of the rails to be joined and inwidth with the width of the bearing surface of the rails and adapted tobewelded to said rails, an oifset web of half the width and the sameheight connecting with the short web and extending beyond the base forside by side engagement with the offset web of the other section andmeans for fastening the two ofltset webs together.

CHARLES A. HUNT.

